Acura’s Precision EV concept is inspired by… boats

Acura revealed a chonky new electric vehicle concept this week, apparently taking some inspiration from the shape of luxury Italian power boats.

Teased earlier this month, the Acura Precision EV concept represents the company’s “north star” for the direction of its future EVs, focusing on a “modern expression of performance,” according to Acura creative director Dave Marek.

The grille area lights up in an aqua blue “diamond pentagon” pattern around the centered Acura logo, while the lower ends of the fascia light up in a prismatic “particle glitch” tessellation that continues the texture onto the 23-inch rims.

The Precision EV has a wide “athletic stance” built by Acura’s LA design studio. It comes in a matte “double apex blue” finish and has a stealth roof on top of its girthy body that does indeed make you think of a speed boat. Acura hasn’t released much in terms of specs, including electric driving range, speed, or battery pack size — though one could assume there’s plenty of room in that hull for extra cells.

The interior is inspired by an F1 racing cockpit that puts the driver in a lower position with race car-style digital instrumentation. And, of course, no EV concept is complete without a yoke steering wheel — but time will tell if Acura is bold enough to ship one like Tesla or Lexus with the upcoming RZ 450e.

The interior lights up in red ambience for its “Instinctive Drive” mode when you want to battle the wakes of the road, and it turns ocean blue with underwater-like animated projection for its “Spiritual Lounge” stationary mode — complete with “soothing scents,” which might mean you’ll get to load up essential oils in the car somewhere.

Acura’s design is another example of electric vehicles trending away from bulbous and cartoon-like designs (think BMW i3). Instead, we’re seeing lighting effects as the new EV signature, such as in production cars like the Cadillac Lyriq. We’re also seeing EVs with comfort pod-style interiors like in the Hyundai Ioniq 6, highlighting that EVs can be lived in without an idling engine polluting the air around you.

The automaker is also trying to be environmentally conscious in its materials: using recycled plastics, responsibly sourced wood, and 100 percent biomass leather. Acura’s parent company, Honda, plans to exclusively build EVs by 2040, with a shorter-term plan of making EVs and fuel cell vehicles 40 percent of its whole global production lineup.

The Acura Precision EV concept is publicly debuting today at The Quail, a motorsports gathering, and will also be showcased at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on Sunday. Expect to see a production electric SUV from Acura based on this concept in 2024.